Simple Cheap Effective Outdoor WiFi Night-vision IP camera

A review of the Zmodo ZP-IBI13-W - a budget IP camera that's easy to set-up and gives good results, but it won't suit everyone....
It seems this model, has now been updated slightly with a different mount and case - the ebay links below (CLICK SHOW MORE) will likely show the NEW UPDATED VERSION.
UK: goo.gl/pbuaFE
US: goo.gl/c7PcUs
DE: goo.gl/Qu5565
AU: goo.gl/M3BLws
NL: goo.gl/8tSlPz
The Techmoan Blog Entry: goo.gl/k30z0t
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[@structure7]

I've purchased a fair number of IP cameras over the years and have yet to land one that "checks all the boxes." Glad to see you've added them to your reviews.

[@spammyjenkins87]

Been using this camera for about a year now with blue iris. Pretty happy with it considering the price/performance. The short cable is a bit of an annoyance and they could have taken a leaf out of other manufacturers books and incorporated an enclosure into the mounting bracket to house the connectors (similar to the Y-cam HomeMonitor HD Pro). I ended up using a cheap weatherproof IP55 enclosure to conceal them and it does the job though doesn't look the prettiest. Haven't used the included software or zmodo apps at all so it was interesting to see how they were supposed to work. Two things I'd mention from my own experience: When testing the camera with iSpy I found the framerate would quickly slow to a crawl no matter how I set it up, and if I recall correctly it was due to the rtsp protocol - no such problem with blue iris. Secondly with regards to adjusting settings the camera hosts it's own active x configuration page so if you have Internet Explorer installed there's no need for any third party software. Great review.

[@Techmoan]

Note about buying this Zmodo camera - It appears this is a slightly older model and the camera has been remodelled recently with a new case and mount - the ebay links in the description (click Show More) will probably bring up details of the newer model instead. Two things to mention to anyone going to ask a predictably silly question (The people who ask about these things definitely won't be reading this). 1)The app will work over the 3G/4G network (as well as WiFi) and I tested this out by viewing my empty back garden whilst sitting at my desk at work 30 miles away. 2) Someone will no doubt ask about whether the camera can record and store video internally (like a dash-cam). I would ask this person to remember the sections of the video where I mentioned that this camera has no SD card slot in it and also contemplate whether I'd accidentally miss off demonstrating a headline feature like this unless it was actually absent from the camera itself.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Seems a squarer case. Still that short bulky lead though, strange they made it way.

[@volkswagenginetta]

i wonder how much influence you carry in the cheap camera market.

[@Techmoan]

fredintheshed1 A long power lead that plugs into the camera itself and an RJ45 socket under a waterproof cover would make a lot more sense to me.

[@OldMacD]

The new model APPEARS to have a shorter stem on the mount which could help overcome the short cables.

[@markybyeah]

Those frame freezes used in editing are annoying!

[@scottmccluremcclure3916]

Short wire with that mess outside is a deal breaker Thank you for showing to use

[@moejoe3825]

Was looking for an inexpensive camera for my front porch. After watching your review and doing some research, I"m going with the Zmodo! Thanks!

[@TheRealMrCods]

Another great review :) Thankyou I was actually looking for something like this.

[@HarunOzgun]

amzn.to/2u1oFNH I used this product, I am glad, I would recommend it to you

[@baddevotions]

Thanks for this! i spent a fair amount of time trying to work out how to change the time on the sodding thing.

[@MattTester]

This looks like great value for money. Interesting to see how the IR performed, I've ordered an IR illuminator to combine with my IR sensing bullet camera this weekend. I don't know how it will perform but it has many more LEDs than the camera so I'm quite confident that it will work well. I may attempt a review of the kit combination myself.

[@filiplaskovski9993]

A good feature to have on these would be to start recording as soon as it detects motion

[@aseelmousa8025]

Victure Dualband 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz 1080P WiFi Camera Baby Monitor,FHD Wireless Security Camera with Motion Detection via IPC360 Pro, Pan Tilt, 2-Way Audio, Night Vision amzn.to/2RmClui

[@HarunOzgun]

amzn.to/2u1oFNH I used this product, I am glad, I would recommend it to you

[@robc4191]

@Keanu Oakley THANKS Keanu! I'm working on your account now. This is GREAT!

[@Andrew_Sparrow]

The Foscam outdoor cameras have a similar lead arrangement. Once I'd configured it for wireless I simply opened the back up and put all the cables inside (was lots of room) and ran my own power cable through the same hole for the cable and plugged it inside (to clarify I removed the existing cable (unplugged from inside and could just about thread the internal connector through the cable hole, reconnected it and ran a new cable inside through the hole to plug in again -if that makes sense :p )

[@Knittyneeds]

Hi. I wanna thank you sincerely for this fantastic well explained video tutorial. I was wondering why my camera wouldn't capte WIFI. I plugged it on the Ethernet as explained and then unplugged as mentioned in the notice. But then I was waiting for my camera to be connected to WIFI, OFFLINE and it didn't connect.. Here is the truth and verdict after waching your video... I didn't go to my WIFI SETTINGS and the problem lay there. So I set my camera to WIFI SETTINGS and by MAGIC my camera read ONLINE. I almost eturned this excellent camera through "ignorance" this afternoon, lucky I was tired. I am so proud of you that you helped me keep this camera. I have the same brand for indoors and it worked so well but I didn 't have to connect it to the Ethernet, it got connected to WIFI immediately. I thought by already installing a camera there was sufficient information and I didn't need to re-connect to WIFI. You are such a blessing to me. Thanks for making me smile and thanks for sharing and caring xxx

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Oh something I ve been thinking about, cheers Matt. Happy New Year.

[@michaelrcrilly]

Fantastic video. I'm not in the faintest bit interested by IP cameras but I was still entertained for the duration of the video. Well done and thank you.

[@bunbunson27]

Hey Techmoan, you should look at the hikvision cameras, specifically the DS-2cd2032-i. They record up to 3mp and cost around $100. Its not wireless, but you can connect a ethernet cable and use POE so it only uses one wire to connect to the camera. Night vision with its IR is pretty poor though, the IR leds on them are only good up to 10 yards.

[@malcolmcrawford4045]

Very well demonstrated presentation of all the setting up of zmodo wireless camera. Including all the observations of the quirky niggles of the short cumming s of the supplied instruction sheet.Thanks for the info, now got mine installed fully.

[@stardomax]

Great video, really enjoyed it. Keep up the great work!

[@MrAlex3461]

That QR on the side to pair the devices is cool ;)

[@johncritchley9199]

A great idea of yours to do reviews of IP security cameras..I for one am very interested. Cheers

[@Anamericanhomestead]

Obviously a fan of the movie "WarGames" His home network is called the WOPR. Awesome! I don't think anyone else caught that in the comments.

[@frankiegonzalez4972]

An American Homestead (Because nobody cares geek,anal retentive, fantasy world loser)

[@resneptacle]

Frankie Gonzalez Says the person watching a outdoor cam review on a camera/audio equip geek channel... But yeah, that is actually mildly interessting, i guess i do care

[@Virolaxion]

JonasLue, I think Frankie was joking. Oh no wait he's subscribed to Stefan Molyneux, he's not.

[@geoffreygorman9149]

You do a great service with you videos, fair played to you.

[@ALSNewsNow]

Thank god for the professional thumbs up decal. If it had not come with this- it would suck.

[@TheHambletonbiker]

I'd love to see some more security camera videos too

[@RetroGamerVX]

Nice camera, let down by those wires. They are very vulnerable to both the elements and snip snip!! But other than that, seems good :o)

[@michaelschmitt3421]

Place it up high and power it with solar.

[@tomyyoung2624]

Yesthing like sitting down with a nice cuppa to a nice Techmoan episode!

[@ChenReed]

Great review, thanks! Do you know if it's possible to record multiple live streams via the PC software?

[@freddodirk905]

Nice well paced review. We love your pommie rooter too. Lol. Cheers mate.

[@markokastellon5359]

Where the recording is saved?

[@memadiabdul2000]

perfect review!thank u!

[@PasanKarunanayake]

I love it. I want to modd it with solar recharging kit. Do they have a cloud software to manage few cameras...?

[@NickRickNameIs]

great review, loads of info while entertaining and moved along and a good pace. Spot on! Wish other reviews were as solid as this one. Thank you much.

[@IzzoPro1]

phenomenal tutorial thanks!

[@DjKProductions]

Nice one! I think I'll get one of these

[@MegaSunspark]

Nice video as always. Loved your "root" 66, route 66 tantrum.

[@marklittler784]

That spaghetti junction wiring from the rear of the camera no doubt took years of hard work and research to come up with.

[@halfmanhalftenor]

Just bought this from Amazon. It has a different cable setup now, just a single miniUSB power connector, no ethernet connection required, This is a lot simpler, less cabling to deal with, but there's still an connection to be made about 20cm from the camera. The instructions are quite confusing, different instructions available in different places, but got it running eventually, works well.

[@winterpauluk]

was looking for how to instal a camera i just got thanks for the vid

[@chaim0001]

Hi, first of all thank you for this and all others very interesting and instructive videos. I have 2 PTZ (no zoom) cameras that run in a similar way, and for both I can access them and change the setup via browser. IE is fully compatible but it is also pretty decent with Chrome. Did you try it?

[@twocvbloke]

I modified my IP cam (not quite the same as this one, mostly cos it's wired and pretty much a completely different camera!!) by lopping off the bulky connector (mine thankfully had a foot-long cable before the bundle of mess), mapping out the wires (Tx & Rx + & -, Power (Cam), Power (IR LEDs) and flashing status LEDs which were pointless so left them out) and snapping on an RJ45 plug after passing it through my doorframe, then connected that to a coupler then to a Cat5E cable and using a PoE injector I sent power up to it with the wallwart set away from where the camera is sited and hooked it up to a roooooter and it works great... :)

[@riborickertt]

Best Teachmoan, The windows software is NOT ESSENTIAL to set time and date things. You can look up the ip of the camera and when you put that in your browser, you will get the same settings, preview etc..

[@HarunOzgun]

amzn.to/2u1oFNH I used this product, I am glad, I would recommend it to you

[@WinstonSmith1984]

Is it able use FTP for motion detection alerts? I would have liked to see how well it supports ONVIF by using it with an open source ONVIF client such as "ONVIF Device Manager". I only buy cameras that support ONVIF because I don't want to be dependent on rubbish and proprietary Chinese software and sometimes intermediate servers that they connect to (and do who knows what with your data). Another important thing to consider, is can the WIFI key be retrieved if the thing is stolen.

[@kristinawashington1773]

Excellent video! Thanks a bunch.

[@doccool1104]

Really like this informative video. Router . . . Rooter . . . explanation is perfect and I agree English in America is confusing sometimes. The rest is "very well done" . . . . (Please use a British Accent). Consider me a regular user when I need any tech info. "Thanks again" (In American English here).

[@w_i_k_i_d]

Really good review. Very informative and nicely done. For those of you who don't know:- 12:03 59 pounds = 26761.9 grams.

[@MikezMordecai]

Thanks for such an informative video. Been looking around for a good and affordable IP camera for a while now. I think this is the one im going to go for. Just a quick question. Have you had a chance to use this while abroad, If so, how well has it worked for you?

[@Techmoan]

+Michael Warmington I didn't get a chance to try that with this camera. It shouldn't be a problem though.

[@MikezMordecai]

Okay, thank you.

[@mysticvirgo9318]

ha! Southern u.s. it Is r-OW-te 66 :) so :P :D love the channel keep it up, mate!

[@BusterCapInYoAss]

Given it's an external use camera, I'm really surprised by the short length of the cables at the rear (as you are), not a selling point imho. As others, I'd like to see more CCTV reviews should you be planning any Sir. In terms of the Colour, an individual could always paint it if it was that important, the image and functions I would think are more important than the shell colour, at th'end ut'dayy?!

[@MrParadise]

First of all I must say a massive thanks to you ;) I got myself a nice SJCAM now thanks to your review on it. Im wanting to learn alot more about high frame rate cameras because I love slow motion videos, I learnt from you about the fake high fps cams saying for example that 60fps was really 30fps with 2 of the same frames shown, if you know what I mean, I would love you to do some cool new videos on budget high frame rate cameras, if there will be any lol we now have the apple iphone 6 with its 240 fps and I wonder if it really is a true 240fps ? Im hoping soon they will start bringing out cheaper cams like the Iphone 6. Many thanks for your hard work and Happy New Year mate ;) From ANTON ;)

[@Rdenieuwe91]

Hey love your videos and how in depth your reviews are. I live in the US and had some recent shootings in our area next door the most recent. It's a bit hard at the moment to just up and leave our house so I'm looking into a two camera outdoor security cam set up and wondering what you would recommend. Hope to here from you and thanks again.

[@Techmoan]

+Richard De Nieuwe I don't have any security camera recommendations but perhaps this article might give you some ideas. www.techmoan.com/blog/2015/3/15/cctv-basics-wired-day-night-outdoor-camera.html

[@Kerousmac]

I stumbled on your comment, seeing your avatar, presumably you?? in your fatigues. Just wanted to take the time to say that I'm sorry for your neighborhood circumstances. My first thought was, my God, this guy serves our country...only to have to worry about "warfare" in his own back yard?!? It's never fair for innocent people to have to worry and fear for their safety in their own home/home area. Hope things are better, as I see this was from 11 mos ago ; ) Thank you for your brave, self-less service for us.

[@SharkLossy]

Great video!

[@GmoLargey]

@Techmoan +Techmoan could you tell me if this camera will record to the android tablet if set up to record video on motion detection, and if it stops recording again when the scene is still again? I appreciate this video was a while ago but any help would be great. Thanks!

[@HeyItzBradHD]

The motion detect when someone walks does it save to your hdd on your phone

[@Inkulabi]

Great review! seems like a legit product

[@videomentaryproductionschannel]

Hmm looks to be good value for money, ok you may have as you said sort out wiring a bit depending on where your going to install the Camera, as usual a good demo, nice video

[@user-lt6ds3ol4d]

nice camera! works perfectly with my Xeoma software

[@TheErikp]

Do you have any plan on installing more thank 1 camera?

[@roynelson7613]

I just commented on your s_j 4000 you have great videos I'm going to check a bunch of them now thanks man

[@kennys5819]

A cut into segments bicycle tube, a bit of caulking, and a couple of zip ties work well for waterproofing a wire harness like that.

[@atms001]

I wonder if the windows software has video recording in motion detection?

[@pavalige]

I get your frustration at the silly questions...and with the amount of subscribers you have it must make it even more so ,I know it would me.

[@SmilerBFC]

good review!

[@johnpalma7265]

Does anyone happen to know wether the camera would require some sort of indoor wifi,like an indoor wifi router,or does it have some sort of built in wifi capabiliy?Thanks.

[@gadgetsbuzzzchannel9407]

Good review.

[@gavinprosser]

any update to this mate as lots of break ins round here and im after a budget system thats got ok video quality? or buy a good nvr box with 8 inputs and buy a camera one by one as budget allows?

[@johnnybravo8192]

Hi. I would like to ask whether there is a way to mount the camera onto wall without screws, like some sticky magnetic mount or something? Or if there is very similar model to this that has those magnetic mounts instead of having to screw it into the wall or something? Thanks. Nice video.

[@ChipXMBR]

Hi does this camera work when your away from home on a mobile network? Thanks and great review

[@anonimul9731]

hi When i try to set up the motion alarm, it ask for a "server" what should i put there, and where can i find it?

[@butterfly-dq1hf]

Good to learn about it.

[@brickmansions4]

What's the point of having a camera running 24/7 that doesn't record? I can't think of a single use for this, unless you go on the app one day when you're out and you happen to be being burgled and you can then record...

[@danwoodward23]

Because it saves and emails images when motion is detected

[@olestas]

No point. Video must be recorded on external server or NVR.

[@danwoodward23]

olestas it would be better to show the police the still images of your burglars faces than nothing at all Pedro.

[@olestas]

Dan Woodward I was replying to first post. As I said, normally network cameras must stream the video to special recording device or at least sd card. And what was that pedro for?

[@danwoodward23]

olestas I thought you were replying to me sorry. And Pedro because the first part of your name sounds a bit Spanish. No offence intended lol

[@brucesutcliffesutcliffe8647]

I have a monator. do I need to use the internet to be able to use camera remotely?

[@carzlovers]

Does it connects to wifi easily and we can se in mobile and iphones?and thought which app we can se in mobile

[@astrotech9663]

Can you connect it to a DVR and manage the camera centrally?

[@sakodanny]

do i need to have cable plugged in router to set time and date

[@cbreeling1]

I have a different use in mind. Do you think it would work to video amateur indoor sporting events to then put on my website for replaying if people couldn't make the match? (would use 2 cameras). What would you suggest to use to store the video on for this use? I think you do a great job of reviewing products and give a fair evaluation

[@Looloo-xr4qf]

Techmoan Where did you get that apple plug thing were you was able to plug the ethernet cable into? many thanks

[@CarterRumsey]

Hey I'm thinking of buying one and I was wondering if it takes a lot of wifi to make the cameras run

[@kyndred2008]

very helpfull ,thank you sir

[@Nordmarkproductions]

is it possible to set this up to record to a server/ nas if it can't do it internally?

[@rmjkj]

I love the explanation in the night shot that the white dots are rain, but would it be useful to explain what rain is for those not living in the UK !!!

[@LasseHuhtala]

Interesting, that's not the first ip-cam app i've seen that goes bonkers when you try to switch orientation, or never gets it right in the first place. Nice garden btw. :-)

[@ljililljililjl9441]

Hi Please What do you recommend Buy the ‏ best camera External ‏High quality And Photography Lily Clear

[@futureproductions]

Do you need to keep that damn windows app running (am on mac) to get email alerts and set up time or is it a one time deal?

[@UpcomingJedi]

Can you describe the quality of the mounting screws? The ones mine comes with seem to be made out of soft lead. A little torque...and...snap.

[@warhammer2162]

what's the range of wireless transmission as i have a long garden with a garage at the end i'd like to monitor?

[@maggie1292]

I'm curious to know if this camera can be purchased with power cords that work in the U.S.A. thank you

[@michaeljsmyth7762]

Hi does it record 24/7 or is it only movement? If so where does it store?

[@jumpleadsx2]

There's a Tenvis version of this camera. Is there a techmoan video on setting up the remote viewing of them? Ie the ip elements. . Very complicated

[@davidraper6872]

Can you tell me what wiring to get for set please . Thanks

[@thesparky1212]

Hi Techmoan, how did you overcome the short cable problem in the end? Did you use a waterproof box? Thanks 😉

[@divery4eyes]

a little something that i learned................ get some of those little solar powered leds lights and place then where the camera does not see so well. a led puts out an amazing amount of light, visible and non visible. dont believe me? take your tv or whatever remote and go outside and point it at your camera standing about 30 feet away. go inside and look at the recording, you will be able to see the individual pulses from that distance and greater even. the little solar powered lights act like almost range extenders for the night vision while adding a little bit of visible light

[@ferguswl7359]

Can,you do a review of the,vivitar action camera range

[@BarbD55]

how cold outdoors can you use this? I live where it's Cold!

[@BBXFX]

Newbie here! I want a motion detected video clip to be uploaded to the cloud directly as it's happening in case the camera is ripped off the wall/table/ceiling. Using FTP or cloud of my choice seems better than relying on a company & their website that may vanish a few years later like others have commented. read on... 1. Must a computer be turned on to record these motion detected clips or are they directly streamed to this company's website from the camera through the wifi rOOter :) ? 2.Is a photo then sent in an email linking to the video clip stored on the cloud service of my choice or....? I have only today learned of the software titles mentioned by other commenters so... Thanks & as usual, TECHMOAN is a great place to learn about all these consumer gadgets and more. Any replies are welcome or links to great websites good for a newb home security investor like myself to learn more. I could google it, but maybe you have a nice suggestion already. also coincidentally, I saw the videos below just a few minutes ago, then decided to Peek on Techmoan for some reviews. enjoy... home cameras in action. Searching for the burglars. on.aol.com/video/hidden-camera-catches-burglars-in-the-act-518543661 Suspected burglar caught and in court. www.wptz.com/news/burglary-suspect-pleads-not-guilty/30061922 As you see, they took the cameras but the footage was already uploaded before they were disabled. An onboard SD card would not have helped in this case.

[@christopherdonohue6913]

Can you rewind to get footage that you did not record while in process? I'm guessing you have to always be recording and only saving the footage if/when necessary, is this how you would go about having footage in the case an event did happen and you needed the footage for a case or investigation? Thank you for your video and assistance.

[@muhammadamohsin]

What is that apple adapter at 2:56? Thanks

[@LacayoDe]

Dear Mr. Mat, I've been looking for weeks for a budget outdoor camera with loop SD card recording (like your dash cams) and hopefully an app so I can check the streaming if i want to on the go.. Do you know if there is anything out there with this two functions under $100? They recomended me the Sricam SP007, but they say the looping option brings problems ( which is the most important feature im looking for) since the camera will be on a 5th floor and thus imposible to reach by thiefs. Thanks so much for always replaying! Im looking forward to graduate quick from college so I can support your patron.

[@mua.yessica]

how do you get your internet router to the outdoor camera?

[@kingtjamaro4880]

I have the same question

[@voipportland6911]

No disrespected to Techmoan - one of my favorite reviewers - I would stick to Hikvision cameras. They are 1080p and rock solid. A Wifi INDOOR/covered camera with audio for about $130 on Ebay. Their 2032 bullet POE camera is the go-to standard now for just about any camera enthusiast. About $95 on Ebay. MUCH better performance than the Zmodo --- remember you must get power to even a 'wireless' camera anyway - so go with POE when ever possible. Cheap 720p cameras - don't waste your time. The resolution will not allow you to ID a face in most lighting. 1080p now or nothing.

[@kevinkilloy7608]

I totally agree with you. I installed the Zmodo 4 camera 720p NVR camera system. Good for $189.00 with no HDD, but two cameras have failed in the first year. Save your money and buy the Hikvision cameras.

[@CindyPDX]

@Techomoan, I was wondering would this cam work with iSpy? (it's free and works great with my old Wireless cams) I use iSpy 64 on my Windows 7 PC. Others use Blue Iris (not free) just wondering if you have used iSpy with this Zmodo camera. And thank you for your excellent video review on this camera.

[@idk8964]

yes i do say route 66 (rowt 66) roots are part of plants in the ground.

[@S.N.Customs]

how far away can you be ti have it work with your phone or laptop

[@brett5728]

Hi wonder if someone can help can this camera be hardwired to the mains of household power as I’m going to put it outside and the cable supplied isn’t long enough